[[quoteright:260:[[Franchise/MassEffect http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sovereign_Codex_Image_95.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:260:Your guess is as good as ours.]]Creatures which may or may not be {{robot}}ic, or organic, or some mixture. They usually appear to have artificial mechanisms behind their creation, or perhaps they have what appear to be robotic parts connected to (or growing from) their bodies. Then again, they may have fur, or be salivating or perhaps move in a fashion too animalistic to be considered robotic. In short, the viewer will wonder "{{Cyborg}}, or machine with organic parts?"

The ambiguity between machine and creature is never resolved. Most of the time, it is never even mentioned. This is often deliberately designed to invoke the UncannyValley principle.

May be related to MechanicalLifeforms and {{Robeast}}s. See also StarfishRobots.----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the [[spoiler:HumongousMecha turn out to be not only [[UnroboticReveal organic]] but also forcibly trapped in the mech suits, in order to limit their power]]. It's very difficult to tell where the technology ends and the organic bits begin.* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', the [=LFOs=] (Light-Finding Operation) and [=KLFs=] (Kraft Light Fighter) are organic with armor and control mechanisms added on. They find the templates in mines, conveniently shaped to be one seater mecha (although at least one has a tandem cockpit). The Nirvash is unique both because it was the first one ever found and because it is explicitly shaped as a pair (next to each other, not one behind the other) two-seater.* In ''Anime/ArmitageIII'' "Thirds" are frequently said to be robots and we know they are artificially created and but [[spoiler:they are capable of bearing children]] so who knows how you're supposed to classify them.* Section 9's cyborg police from ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell''. Are they humans with cybernetic implants or robots with organic parts? [[ContemplateOurNavels They even wonder themselves.]]* A lot of ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' are like this. Some are Cyborgs by classification but apparently lack any organic parts (like Kendo Garurumon and Jager Loweemon) whereas others are never specifically referred to as robotic at all, yet for all intents and purposes appear to be mecha (most of the Royal Knights are like this, as well as a good majority of other mega level Digimon).* The "Bird Human" from ''Anime/MacrossZero''. It's been dormant for thousands of years, and it reattaches its head without issue using metallic clamps, but it moves like a living creature, and its "cockpit" interface is clearly organic. [[spoiler:The Protoculture built it as an attempt to imitate the biotechnology of the [[Anime/MacrossFrontier Vajra]], perhaps explaining its living characteristics.]]* The "boomers" from ''[[Anime/BubblegumCrisis Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040]]'', when they are functioning normally they look like normal metallic humanoid robots, but when they go berserk their features "melt" and gain teeth and/or combat tentacles, there was even one episode dealing with an engineered creature that preyed and devoured rogue boomers. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* In the ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' album ''Machine qui Rève'', [[spoiler:the other Spirou]] is alternatively called a clone or an android, and while [[RoboticReveal his leg wound is abnormal]], it's not precised how exactly.* In ''Webcomic/{{Overside}}'', the Machine Men are this. It's eventually (in the second full-length story) established that they're the metal descendants of rock {{golem}}s.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* Creator/RidleyScott loves this trope:** The Replicants in ''Film/BladeRunner''. [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots They appear to be organic]], but are they robots or genetically engineered humans? We never really get a look at their insides.** ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' has several examples:*** The Xenomorphs. Are they organic? Who knows? They are shiny metallic, with wires and tubes and acid instead of blood. The ambiguity in this example adds to the mystery and haunting power of the films.*** The Space Jockey from the first film. [[spoiler: ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' would reveal it was simply a giant species of HumanAlien in a suit]].*** The androids ([[spoiler:Science Officer Ash]]) in the [[Film/{{Alien}} first movie]], Bishop in the [[Film/{{Aliens}} second movie]], [[spoiler:Analee Call]] in [[Film/AlienResurrection the fourth]]) seem to tend toward robot, but any time they're wounded, we see some inhuman-but-possibly-organic guts.* General Grievous, the Kaleesh cyborg from ''Franchise/StarWars'' gets this treatment from both the audience and people in-universe. He is the general of an android army and looks like an android. But he moves like a vulture, seems to suffer from a bad cough and has an organic heart. In fact, his BerserkButton is when people call him a droid. * The Chitauri as they appear in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. They appear to be mostly organic with a few cybernetic enhancements, [[spoiler:yet the entire army is killed when their mothership is blown up, shutting them down like robots]].* The alien in ''Film/{{Virus}}'' appears to be [[EnergyBeing a creature made of electrical energy]], but can interface with computers and directly control them. It then creates bizarre robots that incorporate the bodies and organs of the crew of the ship it has taken over. Moreover, it's never really stated ''why'' these machines use organic components.* Skeletor's Centurions in ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse''. We're never quite sure whether these are men in armor or robots. They move and fight a lot like living people, but an awful lot of sparks fly out of them when they're struck with swords and laser blasts.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote a short story concerning a hunt for a lost planet that functioned as a psychology experiment. Robots, "with much simpler bodies than our own," were implanted with the laws of psychology and were unknowing of their status as robots. Right up until it is mentioned that [[spoiler: New York is one of the cities on the planet]].* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' raises similar questions about [[spoiler:Earth]], since it was [[spoiler:part of a computer designed to find the ultimate question of Life, The Universe and everything.]] Considering that [[spoiler: humanity is revealed in the second book to be descended from aliens tricked into leaving their own planet]], concerns are lessened somewhat.* The Spiders from the Literature/QuadrailSeries.* The Biots (short for "biological robot') from ''Literature/RendezvousWithRama.''[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':** Bioloids: Bio-robots or artificially constructed cyborgs? It's hard to tell. Similar to the example of the Androids in ''Alien'', in that they are clearly artificial, but their inner workings appear to be at least partially organic and their name only reinforces this ambiguity.** The Coreeshi bounty hunters permanently graft themselves into their bio-mechanical looking armored suits (making them very similar to Cyborgs), and what we saw of their true form (we think) was a viscous orange goo. [[spoiler:However, a Scarran spy was also able to graft himself surgically into such a suit.]]* The Cylons in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' started out like this: the original idea was that they were reptilian beings in armored robot-like suits, but that idea got nixed when they were established as the robotic descendants of a reptilian race.* The Cylons in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' ended up like this: Various examples run the gamut from straight-up robots to bio-mechanical hybrids of various flavors to RidiculouslyHumanRobots.* The Shadows in ''Series/BabylonFive''. It's never clear if the insectoid monsters we see are the representatives of the species or some kind of service and attack drones, since the race's counterpart, Vorlons, are EnergyBeings, and it'd be strange if the (at least) equally advanced Shadows still klinged to physical forms.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multiple Media]]* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':** For the first few years, it seemed that most of the characters were MechanicalLifeforms, but they were later revealed to have some organic components such as muscle and lung tissue (meaning they're technically cyborgs). An outsider commented that they move too fluidly to be pure robots. Just to highlight this trope, there's another setting where the ratio is reversed: characters are mostly organic with some cybernetic enhancements. Yet, thanks in part to wearing heavy armor, the mostly-organic characters don't look much different from the mostly-robotic ones.** How this is depicted in different media is very varied. Only the first three DirectToVideo movies went out of their way to actually show muscle and other kinds of tissue. In the fourth (starring the mostly organic character variants), they are all completely mechanical in appearance. It's quite likely the creators of said movie simply had no idea ''what'' kind of beings they were making a movie about.** The toys weren't of much help in this matter. The action features required them to have all sorts of [[ClockworkCreature gears]] inside them, and it wasn't until the Voya Nui saga (2006) that the first and only figures with actual rubber muscles came out (there are also rubber collectibles like Kraata slugs or sea squids, but those aren't technically ''figures''). And even those only had rubber on certain parts -- the Piraka on their face and back, and the Toa Inika wore fleshy rubber masks.* DependingOnTheWriter and the continuity, ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' can sometimes fall under this trope.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* The Music/{{Vocaloid}}; It does NOT help how there is no canon at all. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':** Necrons look like [[SkeleBot9000 skeletal robots]], but are apparently more HauntedTechnology or metal {{golem}}s, or whatever. At least, until their Fifth Edition codex, which seems to favor the BrainUploading theory.** Eldar Wraith-warriors are made of psycho-sensitive wraithbone, which is as hard as adamantium, but isn't constructed, but rather "grown" through the use of a bonesinger, who literally sings to the material with a psychic song, causing it to be shaped into whatever is needed. Wraithbone itself is said to be solidified psychic energy, so it's all up in the air about exactly what Wraithlords and Wraithguards are technically.** Chaos Daemon Engines straddle the line between being a metallic daemon and a daemon possessing a mechanical body. Either way, they're capable of shrugging off damage that would cripple a regular machine, and are even capable of repairing themselves.* The Phyrexians of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' get here from both roads. Phyrexian dogma holds that the flesh is inherently imperfect and must be upgraded to stand "completed" in Phyrexia's embrace; similarly any non-Phyrexian machines are pale imitations of the glory of Phyrexia and must be made suitably Phyrexian, which typically includes at least a few biological extras.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': The Colossi are either gigantic robots of stone, or huge hairy monsters. The mechanical faces of the Colossi are clearly artificial, but parts of their bodies are quite biological.* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':** We know the Reapers reproduce by [[spoiler:liquefying various races and then converting that liquid into a new Reaper]], but they still look and sound entirely mechanical. This ambiguity is to be expected though, as they are basically [[SapientShip Mecha]]-[[EldritchAbomination Cthulhu]].** [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Praetorian Praetorian]] moves and looks like an insect, makes organic sounding noises, and obviously has organic parts (you can see several [[OurZombiesAreDifferent husks]] jammed into its body), but everything else is completely mechanical. Fitting, as it was made with Reaper technology.** In one of the endings of ''Mass Effect 3'', [[spoiler:all life in the galaxy becomes this, as organic and synthetic life are joined to become some new sort of hybrid with characteristics of both.]]** In-universe, nobody is sure if the Citadel's Keepers are genetically engineered creatures, aliens that are incapable or refuse to speak to the new inhabitants, or are bio-mechanical constructs built by the station. The second game implies they were one of the first races harvested by the Reapers and repurposed as a slave workforce for the Citadel, much like [[spoiler:the Protheans]] were later converted into the Collectors. As Mordin so aptly noted about the latter;-->'''Mordin''': No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No ''soul'', [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul replaced by tech!]]** The Geth, while explicitly identified as robots, still have distinctly organic-looking curves and surfaces and have [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11118/111183023/4182028-2674491364-Geth..jpg visible muscle striations on their limbs.]] They even bleed when you shoot them; in-universe it's "conductive fluid" but it looks a lot like white blood.* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': Pretty much ''all'' the Synths used by the Combine. Especially the Strider, which looks like a giant insect, moves around very fluidly, has internal organs (shown when Dog rips out one's brain), and appears to shriek in pain when it dies. It also has a gun growing out of it. In general, Synths are implied to be living creatures forcibly converted into cyborgs by the Combine, much like what they're doing to humans, but often it's hard to tell where organic flesh ends and machinery begins.* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': This is pretty much the dominant design aesthetic. We know that the military 'militarizes' wild animals, making them more robotic, but it's unclear how far this process extends. The wild animals often have a somewhat robotic appearance to begin with, and the 'robots' that don't have wild counterparts generally still have animalistic designs. And the [[PhysicalGod fal'Cie]] look like impossible creatures of living stone and metal.* ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'':** The "carbons". The best anyone has been able to tell, they're robots that reproduce sexually or something.** There ''used'' to be a species of humans of ambiguous mechanical-biological ratio in ''VideoGame/MegamanZX'', after they combined into one species with Reploids (they were called "humans" for short, as far as we can tell in the Legends backstory), but those went extinct long ago, leaving behind artificial creations and [[AIIsACrapshoot several superpowered killer robots designed to wipe out all the Carbons]] [[CrapsackWorld periodically to keep them at a low level of development and presumably to make them better servants for the now-extinct human-reploid hybrids]].** Bon Bonne. Is he a baby in a mech suit, a cyborg with a baby brain or a robot with the AI of a baby?** [[spoiler:Mega Man Trigger himself]]. On one hand he's referred to as a purifier unit, and treated as a robot. Yet it's also said that he regressed into an infant form at one point, and is physically indistinguishable from a carbon.* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':** In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' the automated Metal Gear [=RAY=]s in the Arsenal Gear bleed out red "lubrication fluid" when shot.** The Geckos in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'' appear to be giant organic legs with an [[Franchise/StarWars AT-ST]] head on top. They bellow like cattle when entering combat and spew black fluid when "killed". The background establishes that a Gekko's legs are produced from ungulate stem cells grown into legs, and the fluid they leak when hit between the legs, particularly in ''[[VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Rising|Revengeance}} Revengence]]'', is the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles. ** In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Rising|Revengeance}}'' both automated [=RAYs=] and Gekkos are types of UG (Unmanned [Metal] Gear) piloted by an AI, but instead of a computer they use an "optical-neuro" brain structurally similar to human brains. Most [=UGs=] are almost animals (Raptors briefly go "feral" when one of their own is killed for example) while the far more complicated Bladewolf (whose brain has 90 billion neural connections, more than a human brain) arguably has a more human mind than some of the supposed humans, who all have nanomachines modifying their thoughts and emotions.*** The FinalBoss looks human on the outside despite a mechanical nature that he can turn on and off at will, and unlike the cyborg characters there's no clue or hint of where his body ends and where the cybernetics begin, or if there's even a distinction at all. Calling Doktor has him talk about theories regarding a centrally controlled "colony" of nanomachines molded into a human shape, but it's clear that's only speculation.* To a certain extent, Meta Ridley from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', as there's nothing to indicate how much of him is still living and how much is robotic.* Cyrax, Sektor, and Cyborg Smoke from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''.* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'':** The debates over whether the Starmen are robots or aliens in space suits have been going on ''forever''. The actual in-game mechanics make no difference, [[BottledHeroicResolve sudden guts pills]] and refuels both work on robots and humans alike.[[note]]Starmen can use pills on other robots, and Poo's "mirror" ability allows him to copy an Atomic Power Robot and refuel allies.[[/note]]** The underwater "oxygen machines" used by the Pigmask army in ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}}'' outwardly appear to be typical mermen (Though there's also a land-based centaur model). The fact that they're later shown conversing with one another only makes things more confusing.* ''VideoGame/SpiralKnights'', the main species of the game were mistaken for MechanicalLifeforms for the longest time due to the energy system.* The Songbird in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite''. Very little of its backstory is given, but its technology is [[AlternateSelf equivalent to]] the cyborg Big Daddies of ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' and it has a "personality". On the other hand, it's far larger than a human being can be, exists in a setting where crude [=AIs=] are commonplace as turrets and floating gun platforms, and it can be controlled via a flute.* The [[AlienInvasion Scrin]] from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'' appear to be attack drones in the form of various insects, whose weaponry and technological parts are not so much added to them as to be part of their body in the first place. At the same time, they appear to have blood, and various [[AllThereInTheManual in game sources]] mention selective breeding.* In ''Videogame/{{Warframe}}'', it's not clear how much of a Warframe is organic, how much of it is the Tenno operator, and how much of it is mechanical. Vauban has obvious mechanical bits and looks like a dude wearing a heavy coat and a NiceHat, while frames like Saryn or Zephyr look more like they're grown from the Technocyte virus. [[spoiler:The story quest [[WhamEpisode The Second Dream]] reveals that the Tenno is not even present in the Warframe, but instead pilots it remotely from a distance through a process known as 'Transference'. However, the climax of the same quest also sees a Warframe apparently acting on its own accord to save its Tenno, which just raises the question of what ''is'' inside it.]] The various Infested Mutalist enemies are grown from robots infected by the technocyte virus, leading to mechanical monstrosities that spew out bile yet short out when killed.* The Karmakeeper, the main character of ''VideoGame/KarmaflowTheRockOperaVideoGame'' is a sort of floating rhombus shaped thing with TronLines and HotWings, has no other visible limbs, [[HeroicMute doesn't make a sound]] and a horned head. The only other character that looks like that is the resident tutorial and ability giver, while the rest appear much more but still vaguely humanoid and organic. [[spoiler:At the end, it is at least confirmed the Karmakeeper is a constructed being]].* The Engi of ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' are sentient clusters of {{nanomachines}}, but whether they were artificially created or are simply MechanicalLifeforms is unclear.* The Cyberdiscs in ''VideoGame/XComEnemyUnknown'' are so strange and so different from most other mechanical enemies in the game your researchers begin to speculate if it is some form of silicon-based life-form rather than a machine.* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Zenyatta and Bastion are clearly robots, but for much of the other cast it's unclear which body parts, if any, are artificial and not just covered by armor. Examples include any of Pharah's arms and legs, [=McCree=]'s left arm, Hanzo's right forearm and feet, Torbjörn's left arm, Reinhardt's entire armor-clad body, Symmetra's left arm, and Lúcio's body below the waist.* With the way Caldarius from ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' constantly wears his suit, many characters through various lines think he's actually some sort of robot. While it's just a suit he wears as far as anyone can tell, it's interesting to note that he is according to various parts of his lore and even from [[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/meet-the-villain-of-ps4-xbox-one-pc-shooter-battle/1100-6430814/ the devs themselves]], Caldarius is not a pure blood Jennerit. He is actually a Kemessian, a species which is not exactly fully specified in detail other than some ambiguous hints.* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'':** The Milsaadi are a species of SiliconBasedLife, and as such are often mistaken for robots when first seen. Their skin looks metallic, their eyes glow red, and their voices have a noticeable reverb. Nonetheless, they are suggested to be fully... whatever the silicon equivalent of "organic" is.** The Oc-servs, Fal-swos, and Xe-doms running around the landscape of Mira are not creations of the Ganglion, but something they dug up on the planet and reprogrammed into serving them. Despite their mechanical nature, the metal they're made of is suggested to be "alive" in some sense, and doesn't match any known alloy.** [[spoiler:The humans in the game all inhabit robotic bodies called mimeosomes, which are outwardly completely identical to a living human. They breathe, they eat, they sleep... they can even "bleed out" and "die" due to losing bio-circulatory plasma. In fact, the player character (and the player themselves) don't even realize they're in a robot body until a fair way into the story! One character even questions if the mimeosome bodies are human-like enough to conceive children (answer: no, they can't).]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' has natural biologicals, genetically engineered creatures, cyborgs, fully mechanical people, AI, and every possible combination thereof, but generally you can make a guess as to whether something is primarily a "biont" (biological creature), a "vec" (machine), or an AI. That is, until you get to the [[DeusEstMachina Archailects]], who are colloquially called "AI Gods" but do not consider themselves either biological or mechanical in nature. Most are a fusion of the two, and consider such distinctions to be unimportant.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* Most of the foes in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' are usually this. The creators deliberately blurred the line between organic and mechanical in order to get around the censors, because killing a living thing is deemed not okay, but destroying a robot is, even if it's clearly sentient. As such, any part that Jack actually cuts will turn out to be cybernetic, and anything he kills will be a robot.* In ''WesternAnimation/GadgetBoyAndHeather'', the writers apparently can't make up their mind on whether Gadget Boy is a fully artificial robot designed after WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget, or a cyborg. G9 has the same problem, although it's less pronounced.* [[spoiler:Sari Sumdac]] in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', being the end result of a Cybertronian protoform scanning a human being as its alt-mode.* Quite a few creatures in the original ''TransformersGenerationOne'' TV series: The Quintessons, the Morphobot plants, and the giant egg creature from "The Secret of Omega Supreme." And many of the alien races from Season 3 look vaguely robotic.* ''BeastWars'' and ''BeastMachines'' would of course blur things further for the Maximals and Predacons. Plus Botanica the robot PlantPerson.* The gem aliens of WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse look [[RubberForeheadAliens pretty human]] but were quickly revealed to be *[[TechnoBabble deep breath]]* pseudo-organic HardLight [[SelfConstructedBeing bodies projected by a magic rock]]. Later, they were revealed to not only use [[HeartDrive cores]] based on the same principles as their technology, but to actually manufacture those bodies for specific purposes and have specific product lines, putting the gems somewhere between StarfishAliens and StarfishRobots, depending on how you define robot.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]* Much of the paintings of Creator/HRGiger (who designed the Xenomorphs mentioned on the ''Alien'' entry above) depicts organic (frequently human) life and machinery intermingling to a point where it's difficult to tell where flesh ends and metal begins.[[/folder]]